Process of distilling and exsiccating watery combustibles.



G. MERKEL. 5 PROCESS 0F DISTILLING AND EXSICCATING WATERY COINIBUSTIBLES.

2 SHEETS-SHEET h G. MERKEL.

IRCESS OF DISTILIING AND EXSICCATING WATEHY COMBUSTIBLES.

APPLICATION FILED APR, I3; 1917.

Patntd June 12, 1917.

2 SHEETS-SHEET 2.

..... ww- MMM-...nnu-

of the distilling;

`described thereon, the whole being 'solid form, but mere Anatural drying Vby the action GEORG' IYIC'JEIBJCEIL,V F MUNICH, GERMAI'NY;

rnoonss or ms'rinnrne AND Exsocnirin'e wn'rnm' domntrs'rmnns.

Specification of'LettJrs Patent.

rate-mea Juneie, 191e.

Application led April 13, 1917. Serial No. 161,898.

To all 'whom it may concer/n.'

Be it known that I, Grone Mnnnnn, citizen of Germany, residing at Munic Bar varia, Germany, lieve invented yeertnin new and useful Vim rovements in the Process o Distilling und Xsiccatin Watery Gombus* tibles; und I do hereby eclaire the following to be e full, clear, und exact description of the invention, suc-hns ,will enable others skilled in the ait to which it apport-sins to ineke and use theysanie.

My invention relates to improvements iu the process of disiillinU nud exsiccnting vnu tery combustibles and the objects l'ot my ur.

vention4 :ire the remov'nl of certain dren'- backs "sind disadvantages in similar processes hitherto in vogue und referred to herein, to improve the product obtained by Ithe said process, and to design n device particularly adapted 'for carrying out luy improved methods.

'ln describingmy invention I refer to tbc drawings herewith illustrating.r n furnace or kiln-ns used for the distillationof wet-ery combustibles, but improved :is hereinafter und combined with n' silo mountei' designed Jfor can ryingout the 'purposes oil my invention.

In distilling Wet combustibles, suoli us brown-coal, lignite, pent'nnd the like, ss heretofore practised, the structure of the materiel was destroyedA Vo 4such an extent through intensive evzipo ation `within the distillingfurnecc or kiln i nd sudden shrinkage that the residue was not obtained in ly as. ccnl dust. This disadvantage is not of greet the object of the distillation is toobtain the distillate only, but ii' the residue is intended for use, particularly it the same sha-ll. be employed ns n fuel, it must be solid.

The only remedy by which the crumbling of the combustibles during distillation may be avoided hns been found to be in removing 'the chief portion of the water therein contained by e preparatory drying,l in advance process.. .lu big worksnrtiis resorted to only, becnuse of tbe open und time confi'cial exsiccution sir would be much too costly suming.

`fluence on tliepliysicel condition o 'rent of nir of moderate c temperature of importance ii'l Now, thorough' tests have shown that the temperature Vand -degree of moisture of the drying means are of considereblfe in the ultimate product. The slower end'mi'lder the preparatory drying of the wet eombu tible goes on, the more'solid and valuable will be the residue of distillation.

Accordingly, 'the 'present .process com* prises n preparatory exsiccntion in n curdnmpness und of :i lower vternpernture than the boiling point of Water. The temperature of the drying means, z'. e. the moderately damp und air-current, is prefcrnbly .is-y low ind moisture content "s ns liigli ns economy oi' drying may permit. Generally tbcrmost suitable temperature for the' nir entering 'thedrying compcrtn'icnt luisbeen .found to be from fifty to eighty degrees Celsius, while degrees Celsius should be ;ivoicled, lest"-the development ol' the vapors might cause the disadvantage above referred to.

The fnvornblc effect of n moderately moist and warm uir-current muy, for instance, be observed in the nii-shafts where the walls or sides-undue to tlie action of the. escaping damp ind worin nir, show :1. strilringlysolid nud tough condition ofthe coal where they pass.

ln ense o distillation of very moist ma terial, ns peut, u naturel. drying in the open nir should precede the artificiel exsicqetion referred to. f

Crude pent contains in the average from hot more than one .hundredl` ot lignite pitsV eighty/:diretto ninety-two per cent. oli water and there-tore can never be made' dry eco noi'nically by means of artificial heat alone,

because the liest contentV of crude peet is not suliicient to evaporate the water therein contained. In addition, the4 handling Iof so moist av peut is diilicult owing to its puipy condition.

ln my processthe crude nent will be first4 for. the subsequent ertiii'v freed of its water lto e 'certain' extent purpose of rendering the cial exsiccation' economical and :it the seme time Vimparting a consistency '.to .the peut,

sufficient to Vineke it capable' of ,resisting a. certain degree of pressure.

u' The degree of moisture of the peat is also' of the open air for two or'three weeks will be sucient to reduce its moisture to a propo!-..

tion of, fifty to fifty-live per cent., a result whichmay be attained even during cool is used in mostcountries forI eating purrequires to tive er cent. of moisture bouteight to ten store ,inthe open air fora weeks. It is clear from the foregoing that articomrnenced as soon '3s the crude peat eX used to the action of the airhas attained a egree ofvmoisturc L "lftv to fifty-five per cent.

The fui t1 entment of the peat the moisture com ont of which has been reduced proceeds ir: thel vway which is followed in the treatment of pit-moist lignite-coal, the mois-A ture content oi which averages also about fifty per cent.

In carrying out my process I prefer4 to cmploy a device as illustrated in the drawings herewith in which Figure 1 is a vertical scction through an entire plant; Fig. 2 is ahorizontal section on the line A--B of Fig. 1; Fig. 3 is a horizontal section on the line C'-D of- Fig. 1; Fig. 4 is a segmental secinafter referred to an l tion of the silo' forming apportion 'of the` verticalsection throuh a' drying-silo hereplant shown inFig. 1, and gl y6 is n hor i zontal section on the line-Gl--H -in Fig. 5,

the said modification comprising' inclined ,grates- (16) hereinafter mentioned, and embedded in' the funnel-shaped bottom portion 'and mix "within the annular compartment 8 with thc vatmospheric air admitted thereto.- Theeombustion 'water'alwnys present-in' the heating gases causes a' moistenmg of the dx-yingniei1ns to the desired degree. This method of generating warm an' is of great ndvnnt-.i re because almost the entire heat of the heating gases issuingfrom the furnace is vthus utilized, going@ overinto the drying means.

The material dried within the silo is then, by .the aid ,of scraper device 4,-fed into the rlstilling furnace 7., To prevent crumbling of the material during distillation itfwill in most cases be suilicient toI dry the material` down to ten to twenty pc'rccnt. of moisture.

vThe drying device comprises a silo lthc lower portion otwhichis provided .with

`radiallydisposed angular. ducts 2 acting ns y passages for thc admission of the hot air, be-

poses and possessing about twenty to twentiy;

showing a modiicaterial is drawn off through the said discharger or scraper table 4:. t 1' The drying'is effected by counter-current, 'the hot air traveling beneath the angular pieces'i' into the material, expanding and' Vbeingl drawn upwardl by the fan 6. The

hot airibeing uniform y distributed 'over the wholczsection of the silo, the exsiccation of v 'the muribis also-uniform. c licial' exsic'cation may be with advantage The distilli'n'giurnace 7, beneath the silo, comprises mainly concentric embedded iron or steel cylinders connected with each othel" by radial flues 9, preferably of oval cross section. .The annular space 10 between the said two cylinders receives the material in,- tended for distillation, which descends at 'the' rate at which the residue from the same istaken out of thef'urnace,

The heating gages may be produced by the burning o 'f `generator gas in the fire-box- 11, though any combustible 'gas may be em ploycd. The requiredair ma be supplied through openings 12. Theben ing gases flow` -spirallv upwardly throu hthe furnace asindicated und after they have left, the furnace, they vare madeuse of for exsiccation in the Bilo by arrows 1n e drawing, ig. 1,

above, as hereinabove set forth.

-To secure better distribution of the heat within the dstilling furnace, the fines 9 may be arranged in staggered relation, as illustrated.' in Fig. 4:.

TheY residue obtained by the distillation after being cc led in the cooler 15, may be continuouslyr discharged by aspecial 4discharging' device 14, constructed to prevent un admi partment.

sion of air into theldistilling oom- 4`The distilling gases escape through the tube -13 on top of the. distiller.

fI claim: l, The herein described method of lproducing solid fuel from watery combusti les,

which' consi ts in first exposingthe combustibles to he action of a current of moist nir at a high temperature but lower than the boiling: point of water, and then'distlling,lr the material while excludingatmospheric "nir therefrom.

2. The herein described method of pro. ducing solid fuel from watery combustibles, which consists in feeding s'uch combustibles in one direction'and passing therethrough 125 m nn opposite direction amoxst current of air and gases at a high temperature but `-lowerthan the boiling,r point of wat. .x, and

then distillnf.r the material.

3. 'The herein described method of pro-'130 gclucngsolid iuel from watery*combustibles,

which conslsts in first 'exposing the material to the action of air until the moisture `content of such material has been reduced lto between fifty and fifty-live per cent.,

thereafter subjecting said material to the action ofa current of moist air ata high temperature butlower than the boiling point In testimony whereof I hereunto aix my 4signature in thev presence of two`wtnesse&

' GEORG Witnesses:A u

' EDUARD4 PASAIG,

AUGUs'mFlom-ER. y,

of water, and finall)VY distilling Such mat-gf, n 

